The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group works to help people whose rights have been violated and investigates cases involving such abuse, as well as assessing the overall human rights situation in Ukraine. The Group also seeks to develop awareness of human rights issues through public events and its various publications

The regime tries the muscles

According to the information given by Volodymir Zaremba, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper ‘Sicheslavskiy kray, a deputy head of the Dnepropetrovsk oblast organization of the ‘Sobor party, yesterday, at 11:30 a.m. some representatives of ‘Sobor, Ukrainian Rukh, Socialist party, ‘Batkivshchina, Organization of Ukrainian nationalists, union ‘Prosvita, Ukrainian Youth ‘Sobor and Youth Rukh gathered near the universal store in Karl Marx street carrying state banners. They protested against Kuchma and Putins arrival to Dnepropetrovsk. About 100 of men in civil clothes observed the protest action. Nobody so uniformed representatives of militia.

About noon, immediately after the representatives of local and all-Ukrainian TV left the place, the sturdy boys in the civilian clothes started beating the protesters, among whom there were many elderly people. The state banners were torn to pieces. Volodymir Tsapenko, the head of the Dnepropetrovsk oblast organization of ‘Sobor was gravely beaten. Now he stays in hospital.

The beaten people were rudely pushed to the bus with the license plate 092-46 ÀÀ. Ganna Zaremba, a journalist of the newspaper ‘Sicheslavskiy kray, demanded from the attackers to show any documents. In response she heard foul language. Eleven people were transported to the destination unknown, among them the head of the Kyiv district organization of ‘Sobor Ruslan Filimonov, the head of the oblast Organization of Ukrainian nationalists Viktor Taratushka and the head of the city organization of socialist party. Ivan Shulik, the head of the oblast organization of Rukh managed to escape. Now he is wanted by militia.

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper ‘Sicheslavskiy kray managed to learn where the detained people are kept: it is the Babushkino district precinct. They are accused of resistance to militia. On Monday the Babushkino district court will consider their case.

The ‘Sobor party decisively protests against such illegal actions of law-enforcers. We stress: militia and USS officers, who, wearing civil clothes and carrying no documents, take part in the brutal disbanding of the people using their constitutional right for peaceful protest demonstrations, do not differ from usual gangsters. The power, which uses such gangs for fighting its own people, is doomed. ‘Sobor again reminds all officers of law-enforcing bodies: the Ukrainian Constitution strictly forbids executing criminal orders (Article 60). We warn: soon the Ukrainian people will put on a stern trial not only the chieftains of the criminal power, but also those, who thoughtlessly executed criminal orders.